Bodies are undependable, and today I have learned to be doubly thankful for mine.

At lunch today an 80-something friend told me how his prayers focus on thanksgiving because he has so much to be thankful for. He is grateful that God sent someone to save him when he was drowning in the North Atlantic. He thanks God that he remains active despite having the fungus of Valley Fever living inside him.

I prayed with a 70-something friend in the hospital who surprised everyone yesterday by breaking his hip. He grinned and expressed his gratefulness for good doctors and morphine.

I talked with a 50-something friend this evening who struggles every day with an undiagnosed tropical virus. It consumes his energy and has eliminated several activities from his life. Yet all he wanted to do was ask about me and my family.

I did not call a 20-something friend today even though I wanted to. Three months ago he experienced his first convulsion…and this unwelcome guest will not leave him alone. While his future impatiently waits on hold, he asks God and doctors for answers.